My Manner of Life

Monday, October 21, 2013

According to the Canons of the Episcopal Church, each
diocese elects 4 clergy Deputies and 4 lay Deputies to serve at General
Convention [GC], and up to four Alternate Deputies in each order.In most dioceses, the diocese pays for the
eight clergy and lay Deputies to attend GC.Most (but not all) dioceses also pay for the 1st Alternate Deputy
in each order to attend Convention.

Attendance at General Convention is very expensive. It typically lasts about 10 days or so. There are significant transportation costs. Hotels typically charge over $100 per
night. And meal/per-diem costs rack up
over the days of GC -- $61 per day in Salt Lake City/2015 according to the
current GSA rates. That means each
Alternate Deputy will “cost” the diocese about $160 per day to attend GC, plus
transportation.

I have heard one dominant reason for sending the 1st
Alternate Deputy in each order: That they might step in to take the place of a
Deputy who cannot serve in one session, or in case a Deputy becomes ill or
injured. … And, yes, most Deputations also step aside so
that their Alternates can have some time on the floor of GC. … Mostly, the arguments I’ve heard for sending
Alternates to GC is so they can step in if need be.

But funds are tight, and some dioceses are questioning the
need to spend that much money to send their 1st lay and clergy Alternate Deputies to General Convention.

At least one Bishop has phrased it this way: “When I sit in
the House of Bishops, there is no one to stand in as my substitute. If I cannot spend a moment or an hour or a day, there is no one to stand in for me. Why should we pay to bring to Alternate
Deputies to spend some 10 days at GC just in case they are needed?” I
can understand that reasoning, in this time of tight budgets. That bishop was arguing from a National
League baseball perspective: S/he has no
“designated hitter” to run to the HoB floor in his/her place.

Since I began closely following GC in 2003, my only
rationale for sending/supporting our clergy and lay Alternates had been my
understanding of something like that “designated hitter ruler.” I thought we needed a substitute, in case one
of the Deputies was indisposed for an hour or a day or more.

Today, I realized there’s another reason – which probably
doesn’t occur to many bishops. It’s
leadership development ... or call it "continuity planning."

When a bishop is elected, s/he has all sorts of training and
mentoring. By the time a new Bishop gets to
General Convention, s/he probably has established a network of colleagues. But it is not so with GC Deputies. The only way to learn how to serve as a
Deputy is to serve as a Deputy. Bringing
eight Deputies, plus two Alternates, gives us two more people who can observe
the workings of GC and participate in the governance of our church. It’s training. It’s leadership development. It’s continuity planning. It is not merely having
a “designated hitter” in the dugout in case someone wants a little break. Bishops get years and years to serve in the
House of Bishops. But in the House of
Deputies, we have to develop our own leadership. And bringing Alternate Deputies, I come to
see, is one of the significant ways we can do that.

That’s my insight du jour.
Bishops get careful mentoring and many GCs in which to develop their
skills, relationships, and understanding.
Bringing Alternate Deputies to GC is a way to help develop skills, leadership,
and relationships among the rest of the clergy and laity. It’s a way to empower the rest of us to see
the bigger picture.

Next time I hear of a Bishop arguing against bringing the 1st
Alternates to General Convention, I’m going to push back for new reasons. And I’m going to push back hard.

Sunday, October 06, 2013

I’m a member of my parish’s Stewardship Team. We are no longer just about the “annual
pledge drive.” We have a year-round
mission of helping to educate, inform, and inspire the parish to contemplate
and live out stewardship in all its manifestations. We lead book and movie discussions. We host special events. We try to keep “stewardship” in the forefront
of our parish awareness throughout the year.

But this is October – the month when most Episcopal parishes
do their “pledge drive.”

In the past 3 or 4 years, we did a combined “pledge drive,”
asking people to pledge their money, time, and talents. This year, we decided to let October be about
financial support of the parish. (We’ll
tackle time and talent in early 2014.) After
much discussion, we decided to talk about money this month. You
know how Christians – and Episcopalians – don’t want to talk about money. It’s considered gauche. Most of us were raised with the mantra that –
in polite society – we do not discuss politics, sex, religion, or money. But Jesus and the Gospel writers talked more
about money than about almost any other topic. Our Stewardship Committee
decided we’d dare to touch that “fourth rail”; we decided to talk quite
explicitly about money this month.

Each October Sunday during the “announcements” period at the
8:00 and 10:30 services, one of us Stewardship Team members will stand up and
talk about Church and money. We are to
share something from our personal experience.
Today was the first of those Sundays, and I was first up at the 10:30
service. I went to the lectern with four small note
cards with “bullet points” on them. In
case any of you want to know, I’m going to try here to write what I tried to
say today from that lectern.

Hello, I’m Lisa Fox, and I’m a member of our Stewardship
Team.

As I was preparing to talk with you today, it struck me that
this is a significant anniversary for me. Fifteen years ago this weekend, on
Friday night, I drove my moving van to Jefferson City. I spent Saturday unpacking as much as I
could. Then Sunday, I walked into this church for the first time. From that first Sunday, you made me feel at
home. I wrote my first offering check that day. And I have never quit giving my
money to this parish since then.

There’s an old saw that “polite” people don’t talk about
sex, politics, religion, or money. But
our Stewardship Team has made a very conscious decision to talk about money
this year. And so I shall.

A few moments ago, we heard the children’s choir introit. They sang almost everything we need to hear
as they sang, “I am the Church. You are the Church. We are the Church together.”

But I want to share a few thoughts with you anyway.

I want to tell you why I tithe to Grace. By the way, I am a little nervous saying that
I tithe. I don’t want it to sound like I’m
bragging. But we hear others talk about
their spiritual disciplines. For example, some people mention that they pray
the Daily Office. Why shouldn’t I also
say that tithing is part of my spiritual discipline?

Here are three reasons why I tithe.

First, I tithe in gratitude for what God has done and is
still doing in my life. Our priest
reminds us that the definition of “Eucharist” is “thanksgiving.” I tithe
because God has blessed and redeemed me more than I ever deserved.

Second, I tithe in gratitude for what this parish is doing and
has done for me, and in gratitude for what it’s doing for other parishioners. I
expect most of you, too, have been blessed by the ministry of our members.

Third, I tithe in gratitude for and solidarity with Grace’s
mission outreach to the wider community and for what that lets us share with
the Diocese and the wider Episcopal Church.

Last year, I was pleased that I finally pledged 10% of my income
to this parish. But then something
happened. As several of you know, my
paid-off car was totaled while I safely at home in June. I had to buy a
new-to-me car. I had counted the cost
and thought I knew what I could afford.
But the payments came up a bit higher than I expected. When the first payment came due – God help
me, I confess – I immediately thought,
“I cannot afford this. I have to make
room in my budget. I guess I’ll have to
reduce my pledge to the Church.”

And then a big head-slap came out to me – maybe from the
Holy Spirit, or maybe from within my own spirit.

I was reminded of what I have so often heard: “A budget is a
moral document.” I believe that. I have a budget. And I thought of all the items I have in that
budget, including my Internet connection, my cell phone charges, my eating-out
budget, and my larger-than-it-should-be Starbucks budget. What in
the world made me think that I should look first to reduce my pledge
to Grace Church and the mission of the Church??

Fortunately, that big ol’ head-slap quickly brought me to my
senses. I had made a promise to God and
to this parish. How dare I first think about reducing my parish pledge? Why in the world would that strike me as the
first possible cut? I realized I could cut back on other things to take up the
slack.

Everything I have – including this new-to-me 2007 car – is a
gift from God. And God has asked me to
give the “first fruits” back to the church.
God “whopped me up-side o’ my head” about my priorities. This parish is one of the things I treasure
most in my life. My treasure should be
where my heart is. And TEC and this
parish matter more to me than my new-to-me car.

I hope you will join me this month in discernment about what
God has given you and what you value about this parish. And please join me in discernment about what we
should give back to God in gratitude for the gifts we have been given.

About Me

I'm a progressive Episcopalian raised in the South and now (thanks to a job change) living in the conservative Midwest. I worship at Grace Episcopal Church in Jefferson City. I love the Episcopal Church, which rescued me from a life of wandering meaningless and gave me a way to explore my faith and belief in God.
On any given topic, I am prone to yammer-on way too long. Sometimes I ponder way more than I should.
A blog-friend said that I demonstrate a "muscled love for our Church." I hope I can live up to that.
And right now I'm pondering Blogger's challenge to define myself in 1200 characters.